1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a braid folding unit and a braid folding method of a shielded wire, wherein a braid of a relatively large-diameter shielded wire used for an electric vehicle and the like can be automatically efficiently folded back toward a shield contactor.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following processing of a shielded wire has been conventionally carried out by hand. That is, a sheath (outer cover), having been cut off in a determined length, of an end portion of the shielded wire is stripped using a device so as to expose a braid made of conductive metal, the braid is cut with scissors in a determined length, a shield contactor made of conductive metal is applied over the wire by hand and positioned behind the braid, and the braid is folded back toward the shield contactor. Further, a shield pipe made of conductive metal is applied over the wire by hand, and the shield pipe is crimped by a crimping device in a state that the braid is put between the shield contactor and the shield pipe. (Refer to FIG. 3 with respect to the form of the braid, the shield contactor, the shield pipe and so on.) Subsequently, an inner cover of the end portion of the wire is stripped using a device, and a terminal is connected to a core wire by a pressure-welding device.
As for the shielded wire, a connecting flange is fitted to the shield pipe, and the connecting flange is grounded to a vehicle body. The terminal is connected to a motor, an inverter or a battery of the electric vehicle.
With respect to the above prior folding method of the shielded wire, however, a worker folds back the braid by using a center punching in a sharp pin-like shape, which requires much man-hour and manufacturing costs and causes dispersion of the folding angle. And, when the folding angle is small, the next step of applying the shield pipe would not be carried out well.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a braid folding unit and a braid folding method of a shielded wire, wherein a braid of a relatively large-diameter shielded wire used for an electric vehicle and the like can be automatically efficiently folded back toward a shield contactor.
In order to achieve the above object, as a first aspect of the present invention, a braid folding unit of a shielded wire comprises: a primary expanding means to beat a braid exposed on an inner cover of the shielded wire so as to outwardly expand the braid; an expanding pipe to enter an inside of the braid along the inner cover so as to further outwardly expand the braid; and a braid folding member to advance along an outside surface of the expanding pipe so as to push the braid in an axial direction of the shielded wire and to fold back the braid.
According to the above structure, because the braid can be expanded large by two means of the braid primary expanding means and the expanding pipe, the folding of the braid by the braid folding member can be carried out without dispersion of the folding angle. By this, the fitting of the shield pipe on the folded braid at the next step can be securely carried out, thereby improving the product quality. And, because the opening operation and the folding operation are sequentially automatically carried out, man-hours required for folding the braid and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
As a second aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, the primary expanding means has a pair of openable-and-closable expanding teeth, a pair of sliding members fixing the respective expanding teeth, and a driving means to open and close the pair of sliding members in opposite directions.
According to the above structure, a pair of sliders open or close integrally with the respective expanding teeth by a driving means and the braid of the shielded wire is repeatedly pressed by the expanding teeth, thereby expanding the braid in a bell-like shape. By this, an insertion of the expanding pipe into the braid can be securely carried out, thereby preventing the end of the expanding pipe from bending the braid inward.
As a third aspect of the present invention, a braid folding method of a shielded wire comprises the steps of: beating a braid exposed on an inner cover of the shielded wire by a primary expanding means so as to outwardly expand the braid; entering an expanding pipe into an inside of the braid along the inner cover so as to further outwardly expand the braid by an end sloping portion of the expanding pipe; and advancing a braid folding member along an outside surface of the expanding pipe so as to push the braid in an axial direction of the shielded wire and to fold back the braid.
According to the above structure, because the braid can be expanded large by two means of the braid primary expanding means and the expanding pipe, the folding of the braid by the braid folding member can be carried out without dispersion of the folding angle. By this, the fitting of the shield pipe on the folded braid at the next step can be securely carried out, thereby improving the product quality. And, because the opening operation and the folding operation are sequentially automatically carried out, man-hours required for folding the braid and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.